ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Government lifts “Export Prohibition” on Bamboo Charcoal for Higher Profitability of Bamboo Industry
Government has lifted the “export prohibition” on bamboo charcoal, a move that would facilitate optimum utilization of raw bamboo and higher profitability in the Indian bamboo industry. Khadi and Village Industries Commission , which is supporting thousands of bamboo-based industries in the country, was persistently requesting the Government to lift the export restriction on bamboo charcoal. Chairman KVIC Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena had written to the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Shri Piyush Goyal, seeking to lift the export restriction on bamboo charcoal for the larger benefit of the bamboo industry.
“All the bamboo charcoal made from bamboo obtained from legal sources are permitted for export subject to proper documentation/certificate of origin proving that the bamboo used for making charcoal has been obtained from legal sources,'' read the notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade .
Chairman KVIC, Shri Saxena thanked Minister of Commerce and Industries, Shri Piyush Goyal for the policy amendment saying the decision would reduce the high input cost of raw bamboo and make the bamboo-based industries, mostly in the remote rural areas, financially profitable. “Bamboo charcoal has a huge demand in the international market and lifting of export prohibition by the government will enable the Indian bamboo industry to tap this opportunity and exploit the huge global demand. This will also ensure optimum utilisation of bamboo waste and thus contribute to the Prime Minister’s vision of Waste to Wealth,” he said.
Notably, the Indian bamboo industry, at present, is grappling with extremely high input cost owing to inadequate utilization of bamboo. In India, bamboo is mostly used in manufacturing of Agarbatti wherein, a maximum of 16% is used for manufacturing of bamboo sticks while the remaining 84% of bamboo is a complete waste. As a result, the Bamboo input cost for Round Bamboo Sticks is in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per MT as against the average Bamboo cost of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per MT.
However, export of bamboo charcoal would ensure complete utilization of the bamboo waste and thus make the bamboo business more profitable. Bamboo charcoal for barbeque, soil nutrition and as a raw material for manufacturing activated charcoal, has great potential in international markets like the USA, Japan, Korea, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France and the UK.
Earlier, in order to create more employment in bamboo-based industries, particularly in Agarbatti industry, KVIC, in 2019, had requested the Central Government for policy changes in import on raw Agarbatti and import duty on round bamboo sticks that were heavily imported from Vietnam and China. Subsequently, in September 2019, the Ministry of Commerce “restricted” the import of raw Agarbatti and in June 2020, the Ministry of Finance increased the import duty on round bamboo sticks.
Ministry of Education
Bal Bhavans
National Education Policy 2020, paves way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems in the country. The main features of New Education Policy  2020 are as follows:-
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- NEP-2020 aims for Universalization of Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % GER in school education by 2030.
- New curricular and Pedagogical Structure .
- Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no hard separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in school; Vocational Education to start from Class 6 with Internships.
- NEP promotes Multilingualism in both schools and HEIs; wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language; National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit, Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
- Assessment reforms with 360-degree Holistic Progress Card and tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes. A National Assessment Centre, PARAKH , to be set-up as a standard-setting body for transforming Assessment.
- Setting-up of State School Standards Authority  to establish a minimal set of standards based on basic parameters , which shall be followed by all schools.
- Teacher education to move into a multi-disciplinary environment and four year B.Ed integrated to become a minimum degree qualification for school teachers by 2030.
- Achieving 100% youth and Adult literacy.
- GER in higher education to be raised to 50 % by 2035.
- Higher Education curriculum to have Flexibility of Subjects.
- Multiple Entry / Exit, and transfer of credit through an Academic Bank of Credits.
- National Research Foundation to be established to foster a strong research culture.
- Light but Tight Regulation of Higher education, single regulator with four separate verticals for different functions- the Higher Education Commission of India .
- A stage-wise mechanism for granting graded autonomy to colleges, through a transparent system of graded accreditation, will be established.
- NEP 2020 advocates increased use of technology with equity; National Educational Technology Forum to be created.
- NEP 2020 emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
Para 7.11 of NEP 2020, recommends that every State will be encouraged to strengthen existing or establish “Bal Bhavans” where children of all ages can visit once a week  or more often, as a special daytime boarding school, to partake in art-related, career-related, and play-related activities.
It would be pertinent to mention here that Education is in the Concurrent list of the Constitution of India and setting up of the schools and related institutions are in the jurisdiction of the State and UTs. Therefore, it is for the respective State Government to take decision on setting up of Bal Bhavans within its jurisdictional area.
The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Smt. Annpurna Devi in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Facilities in Scheduled Tribes Areas
Scheduled Tribe Component  / Tribal Sub-Plan  is the dedicated source of fund for tribal development across the country including Bihar. 40 Central Ministries has been mandated to earmark Tribal Sub-Plan funds in the range of 4.3% to 17.5% of their total Scheme allocation every year for tribal development. Infrastructure development in all areas including tribal dominated areas in the country is carried out through these schemes / programmes of concerned Central Ministries and the State Governments. These schemes relate to various sectors including rural development, housing, drinking water & sanitation, nutrition etc.
Union Budget 2019-20 has been placed before Parliament and may be accessed at www.indiabudget.gov.in.
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Smt. Renuka Singh Saruta in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Issues like Blue Economy, integrated ocean management, marine pollution, green shipping, Ocean based renewable energy came up during bilateral dialogue
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh holds a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Climate and Environment of Norway Mr Espen Barth Eide on the side-lines of the UN Ocean Conference Lisbon, Portugal to discuss issues of mutual interest
India’s Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh held a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Climate and Environment of Norway Mr Espen Barth Eide on the side-lines of the UN Ocean Conference Lisbon, Portugal and discussed several issues of mutual interest.
The meeting comes close on the heels of the 5th India-Norway Task Force meet in New Delhi last week on Blue Economy between Norwegian Ambassador to India, Hans Jacob Frydenlund and the Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary Dr M Ravichandran. The Task Force Meet agreed on new projects and a roadmap for connecting ocean industries on both sides. Both the Countries agreed to explore more cooperation on Green Maritime, Sustainable Ocean Management, Deep Ocean Technology and Offshore Wind.
Dr Jitendra Singh and Mr Espen Barth Eide expressed satisfaction over the progress made so far in the5th India-Norway Task Force meet. The two sides also reviewed the dialogue and progress on issues like integrated ocean management, marine pollution, green shipping, ocean based renewable energy etc.
The two Ministers appreciated the ongoing close cooperation between the two countries and hoped that the partnership grows from strength to strength in future.
Dr Jitendra Singh referred to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Mr. Jonas Gahr Store in Copenhagen on the side-lines of the 2nd India Nordic Summit last month, where Modi highlighted that Norway's skills and India's scope provided natural complementarities.
Quoting Prime Minister Modi on the Copenhagen meet, Dr Jitendra Singh underlined the potential for deepening engagement in areas like Blue Economy, renewable energy, green hydrogen, solar and wind projects, green shipping, fisheries, water management, rainwater harvesting, space cooperation, long term Infrastructure investment, health and culture.
Dr Jitendra Singh also referred to a pilot project between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology  and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur  agreed in January this year to improve interdisciplinary skills, digital literacy, and critical thinking of undergraduate students. The Indian Minister emphasised that these skills are highly needed with the growing demand for new technologies and innovative solutions in the maritime sector.
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SNC/RR
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Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Retired Indian Information Service Officer reminisces IIS years on 100th birthday
Mumbai, 20 December 2020
Shri Madhav Krishna Pardhi, a retired Indian Information Service officer celebrated his 100th birthday on 18 December, 2020. Poet, journalist, storyteller, actor and critic, he served in the Indian Information Service from 1950 to 1978.
Shri M. K. Pardhi was born in a humble family at Savner in Maharashtra. He started his career as a journalist at a Marathi newspaper Navshakti. He proudly remembers his days when he reported on the "Quit India" movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. In 1945, when Prabhakar Padhye was the editor of Navshakti, Shri Pardhi worked as the deputy editor for five years.
Shri Pradhi recounts his association with the All India Radio “I spent large part of my career in the All India Radio. I joined the News Services Division of All India Radio in New Delhi in 1950. I worked in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry till my retirement. But my association with radio goes even beyond. I was associated with radio broadcast work since Mahatma Gandhi's 1942 Quit India movement in AIR Mumbai, where I also worked as casual reporter and occasionally as a poet.”
Apart from All India Radio, Shri Pradhi worked for the Publications Division and Field Publicity departments of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In year 1978, he retired from Field Publicity office, Pune.
A renowned theatre actor, Shri Pardhi has also earned recognition as a critic in the field of drama, music, dance and literature.DJM/CP/DR
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
More than 4 lakh people participated in Ayushman Bharat block level Health Melas on 20th April; 484 blocks organized Health Melas on day three across the country
More than 71,000 ABHA Health IDs created; 17,000 PMJAY Golden Cards issued and 36,000 teleconsultations done
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare  in collaboration with States and Union Territories is celebrating the 4th Anniversary of Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres  under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav from 16th April to 22nd April 2022. The celebrations are being carried out with great enthusiasm and fervour across the country. Union Health minister, Health Minister of States/UTs, MPs, MLAs, senior officials of the Union Health Ministry, Principal Health secretaries/ Health secretaries of States/UTs, senior officials of the State Health department, representatives and local dignitaries are also visiting the AB-HWCs and creating awareness among the public reading the importance of AB-HWCs in providing affordable and accessible Health care.
From 18th-22nd April 2022, Block level Health Melas at more than one lakh AB-HWCs in at least one block in each district of the State/UT are being organised across the country. Each block level Health Mela would be for one day and each block in the State/UT will be covered.
On the third day of the Health Mela, more than 4 lakh people participated and around 484 blocks organized Health Melas across the country. Further, more than 71,000 ABHA Health IDs were created and 17,000 PMJAY Golden Cards issued in addition to thousands of screenings being done for Hypertension, diabetes etc.
Record 3 lakh teleconsultations through e-Sanjeevani platform were done in a day at Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres  on 16th April 2022. This has been the highest number of teleconsultations ever done at AB-HWCs on a single day, surpassing its earlier record of 1.8 lakh teleconsultations per day. On 20th April 2022, more than 36,000 teleconsultations were done throughout the country.
The state-wise Block Health Mela report as on 20.04.2022 is as under:
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
IDY programme at Kochi to be led by Minister of State of Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation Gen  Dr V.K. Singh
Kochi is all set to host 8th International Day of Yoga. The event is being organized by MORTH following Govt’s decision to celebrate IDY at 75 iconic locations across the country, under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as part of ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav  celebrations. Fort Kochi is one such location.
Arrangements are in full swing at the venue for the grand event -- Parade Ground, near St Francis Church, Fort Kochi  -- to make it memorable. Yoga session will be conducted under the supervision of senior Yoga instructor Dr Jaidev, from 5.30 am on 21 June.
On this year’s IDY, along with the main event which will be celebrated at Mysuru Palace, Karnataka, led by the Prime Minister himself. As part of this in Kerala, IDY is being celebrated at two iconic places -- one at Thiruvananthapuram and other at Kochi. The programme at Kochi will be led by Minister of State of Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation, Gen  Dr V.K. Singh.
The theme of this year’s International Day of Yoga is “Yoga for Humanity”. Union Minister for road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari has conveyed the message that the theme aptly portrays how Yoga has served humanity in mitigating sufferings during the Covid-19 pandemic. Yoga will help bring people together through kindness & compassion during the post Covid recovery & promote a sense of unity across the globe, he said.
As Yoga offers a holistic approach to health and well-being, each Yogic activity is the key to improve flexibility, strength, balance & achieving harmony.
The programme in Kochi will be attended by the people of Kochi including students of various eminent colleges, yoga instructors etc., public representatives & senior officials of the State & Central Government. The expected participating members are more than 500.
Ministry of Finance
Cabinet approves Amendment to the ‘Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries’ to incorporate ‘Standby Swap’ amounting to USD 400 million operated within the overall size of the facility
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for amendment to the 'Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries' to incorporate a 'Standby Swap' amounting to USD 400 million operated within the overall size of the Facility of USD 2 billion and build in flexibility with respect to modalities of its operation, such as period of swap, roll over, etc. after due consideration of conditions of requesting SAARC member countries and domestic requirements of India.
Salient features:
Due to heightened financial risk and volatility in global economy, short term swap requirements of SAARC countries could be higher than the agreed lines. The incorporation of 'Standby Swap' within the approved SAARC Swap Framework would provide necessary flexibility to the Framework and would enable India to provide a prompt response to the current request from SAARC member countries for availing the swap amount exceeding the present limit prescribed under the SAARC Swap Framework.
Background:
Cabinet approved the Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries on March 1, 2012 with the intention to provide a line of funding for short term foreign exchange requirements or to meet balance of payments crises till longer term arrangements are made or the issue is resolved in the short-term itself. Under the Facility, RBI offers swaps of varying sizes in USD, Euro or INR to each SAARC member country depending on their two months import requirement and not exceeding US$ 2 billion in total. The swap amount for each country has been defined in the above Facility, subject to a floor of USD 100 Million and a maximum of USD 400 Million. Each Drawal will be for three months tenor and upto maximum of two rollovers.
RBI will negotiate the operational details bilaterally with the Central Banks of the SAARC countries availing the Standby Swap.
Vice President's Secretariat
Ethical and responsible leadership is the need of the hour: Vice President
Clean Government, Clear Vision & Committed Leadership needed to transform the lives of people;
Embrace technology, innovation to find solutions to new challenges emerging in modern world;
Respecting the mandate of the people is important for a democracy to succeed;
Interacts with students of Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that ethical and responsible leadership was the need of the hour. He said that understanding the ground realities, interaction with common people and observing the changing aspirations of the youth were very important for people aspiring to be in public life.
Shri Naidu was interacting with students from Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership promoted by Thane in Maharashtra based Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini , here today, and stressed upon the need for students perusing a career in public life to acquire a decent understanding of the role and responsibility of every institution and their importance in functioning of a democracy that has more than 130 crore population with different set of aspirations.
The Vice President said that a clean government, Clear Vision and Committed Leadership was needed to transform the lives of people. He urged up on Universities, colleges and institutions such as the Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership inculcate such qualities in students from their school days.
Shri Naidu said that said that making students understand the functioning of democratic republic and introducing them to Parliamentary system was also needed.
Shri Naidu said that an aware citizenry, a vibrant and responsible civil society, a robust institutional framework and responsive bureaucracy was crucial in India’s efforts towards making it free from hunger, free of atrocities, free of inequalities and discrimination based on cast, gender and religion.
The Vice President stressed upon the need to strengthen systems that incorporate technology into our governance systems to ensure hassle free service to the last man living in the remotest part of the country. He wanted the youth to embrace technology, innovation to find solutions to new challenges emerging in modern world.
Shri Naidu asked the youth to have a democratic mind that is receptive to new ideas and tolerant to others views. Respecting the mandate of the people was important for democracy to succeed. One must learn to respect it, he added.
The Member of Parliament , Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Auction for Sale  of ‘4.48% GS 2023’, ‘GoI Floating Rate Bond 2033’, ‘6.22% GS 2035’, and ‘6.67% GS 2050’
The Government of India  has announced the Sale  of  ‘4.48% Government Security, 2023’ for a notified amount of Rs 6,000 crore  through price based auction,  ‘GoI Floating Rate Bonds, 2033’ for a notified amount of Rs 2,000 crore  through price based auction,  ‘6.22% Government Security, 2035’ for a notified amount of Rs9,000 crore  through price based auction, and  ‘6.67% Government Security, 2050’ for a notified amount of Rs5,000 crore  through price based auction. GoI will have the option to retain additional subscription up to Rs2,000 crore against each of the above securities. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai on January 15, 2021  using multiple price method.
Up to 5% of the notified amount of the sale of the securitieswill be allotted to eligible individuals and Institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities.
Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution  system on January 15, 2021. The non-competitive bids should be submitted between 10.30 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. and the competitive bids should be submitted between 10.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.
The result of the auctions will be announced on January 15, 2021  and payment by successful bidders will be on January 18, 2021 .
The Securities will be eligible for “When Issued” trading in accordance with the guidelines on ‘When Issued transactions in Central Government Securities’ issued by the Reserve Bank of India vide circular No. RBI/2018-19/25 dated July 24, 2018 as amended from time to time.
President's Secretariat
President’s Ram Navami Greetings
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind in his message on the eve of Ram Navami has said: -
“On the occasion of Ram Navami, I extend my greetings and best wishes to all fellow citizens.
The life of Maryada Purushottam Ram inspires us to follow his footsteps and strive for nobility in thought, words and deeds. Let us imbibe these values in the service of a prosperous nation and a harmonious world.”
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